Draco: This one's going to be awful short, but let's go for a #WhamEpisode.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Glacial Reaches: Desires

"Naomasa, what...?"

The travelling Warriors stood alone on the frozen lake; Naotora was the one who broke the silence, shocked at Naomasa's change. Naomasa himself was astonished, looking over himself in shock, and as he turned around he shook his head. "I don't know. What is this...?"

"Warrior transformation," Evia replied, sheathing her sword. "Much like Pokémon can evolve, some Warriors are capable of transforming - with power drawn from the world itself. And you let it run wild, letting you channel that power to your bidding - for an instant."

"And at the right moment," Naomasa recalled, "an instant is more than enough."

Evia stepped forward, and Naomasa remained where he was. Silence extended across the frozen lake as they came to a stop, not a step away from one another; then Evia's hands came up, slowly reaching for his horns.

Her fingers made contact with the base of each horn... and they shifted, as did his helmet.

Naotora breathed an astonished sigh as she watched Evia slowly affirm her grip around each horn, lifting the helmet from his head. Naomasa made no effort to stop her; as it came free, Evia stepped back, lowering the helmet before her.

"...I suppose we don't have that in common, anymore," Naomasa observed.

Evia sighed. "I think you can understand how many times I've wished I could reach up and pull these off, like an accessory." She offered the helmet back to him. "You've come out of this better than I did."

Naomasa accepted the helmet back, with a small smile.

+x+x+x+

"You look like a Warrior proud."

The travelling Warriors had met up in the Glacier's community, where Hanbei, Kanbei, Nobuyuki, and Ina had been most impressed to see the transformed Naomasa. They were currently gathered in the living room of what had been Hisahide's abode (which, like at the Volcano, was much more decorated and furnished than the other homes of the area); Oichi was tending to Naotora's wounds before they called it a night. At Nobuyuki's comment, Naomasa gave an awkward chuckle. "I feel like a whole new man," he admitted. "Came at an awful price, though."

"I'm not surprised," Ina admitted. "Warrior transformation rarely comes under kind circumstances. They say Evia's first happened because her entire army-"

"That's not a story that needs sharing, Ina," Evia interrupted.

"What's this, now?" Hanbei asked. "I don't think I've heard this story."

"Hanbei!"

Naomasa turned to Evia. "You really are famous in your Ransei, aren't you?'

Evia turned red. "Fame and infamy in equal measure," she admitted.

"Speaking of," Kanbei added, "when we celebrate the end of these Dark Storms, do not bring alcohol."

"Kanbei!"

Oichi shook her head. "Honestly, I think we should save the celebrations until after we get home."

Naotora seemed surprised. "Do you so dislike this Ransei, that you wouldn't stay even long enough to celebrate?"

"It's not that," Oichi insisted, a smile appearing on her face. "I just didn't pack my bikini."

Evia rounded on her as the others laughed. "Oichi!"

+x+x+x+

"I'm sorry about earlier, but you're cute when you're embarrassed."

Oichi's comment when they retired to bed earned a groan from Evia. "That doesn't mean I need my history projected for everyone to hear."

"Sorry, sorry," Oichi pleaded. "Come on, relax."

The two of them got into bed, and Evia breathed a sigh. "We've visited every kingdom, now," she observed, "and we still haven't found the cause of the Dark Storms."

"Not every kingdom," Oichi insisted. "We said we'd save the Thundering Plains for last because of the voltage, remember?"

Evia closed her eyes. "Right. How did I forget?"

"You've had your fair share of bad experiences with Violitian electricity," Oichi observed. "I don't blame you." She sighed. "We might want do a second search in the other places, too. With AZ's Wishing Star, we might find something we missed."

"I don't see how we could miss anything in Avia," Evia pointed out.

"Better cautious than crushed," Oichi argued.

There was silence between the two of them for a moment.

Oichi was the one who broke it. "Have you decided, yet? Whether you want to go home, after all this is done?"

"I have," Evia confirmed.

"And?"

"...Staying in this Ransei is tempting," she admitted. "But it's too... different. There's so much that it lacks, compared to the Ransei we know. It must have taken Nobuyuki years to get used to it." She sighed. "And... I don't want to leave Glaceon and Sylveon waiting for a return that's never going to come. Not if I can help it."

"That's fair."

+x+x+x+

When they came out the next morning, they found Naomasa and Naotora waiting in the living room. "What's got you up so early?" Evia asked.

Naomasa sighed. "I could barely sleep," he admitted, reaching for his head. "It was... different, not having to..."

He trailed off, and an awkward silence persisted for a moment; then Oichi turned to Naotora. "What about you?"

"...I've been thinking," Naotora admitted. "About what Hisahide said."

"Hisahide?" Oichi echoed. "What did he say?"

Naotora turned to Evia. "When you confronted him, about his position regarding the Dark Storms... he said he saw them as a wish come true."

Evia nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"Doesn't that phrasing seem odd?" Naotora asked. "To call it a wish come true? If you or I were to speak about something we've longed for, wouldn't it be more natural to say 'a dream come true'?"

"I... guess," Oichi observed. "Now that you say that... why would he specifically say 'wish'?"

Evia gasped, stepping back in a shock and drawing everyone's attention. "Wait... A wish..."

Oichi turned. "What is it?"

"Kojūrō of the Ascent," Evia recalled. "He said he saw a meteor shower, a few days before the Dark Storms began. Children wish on a shooting star, don't they?" She reached for her brow. "And Hayakawa... her crystal, the one stolen by someone from the Glacier... How did she describe it? If it was hollow, it could serve as a child's cradle..."

She held her hands before her. "A crystal cradle... Shooting stars... And a wish..."

Oichi's eyes widened. "No... He couldn't have... The most fleeting of all?"

"The Crystal Wishmaker...!"

Draco: Be honest with me, did anyone see this coming?